Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Foundering on the Rock

Of all the most scary news there has been in the Northern Rock saga to date I think yesterdays announcement is the scariest.

The company intends to repay a large chunk of the money it owes to the Bank of England by increasing to 60% the redemption rate at the end of ‘customer product period’

This will be done by making customers who come to the end of a fixed rate period an offer which they must refuse – because it is far too expensive

The assumption presumably is that customers will just switch to a different mortgage provider

Easy peasy! Problem solved!

Well the Government saved the depositors. Perhaps they will do the same for the mortgagors

So what am I worried about?

Link: FULL YEAR RESULTS FOR 2007 AND FURTHER DETAILS OF ITS PROPOSED BUSINESS PLAN

Related post: Never mind the debt